Wendy Davis, Greg Abbott duke over dollars

AUSTIN – Republicans are raising a ruckus over fundraising figures touted by Sen. Wendy Davis, who counts a $12.2 million fundraising haul for her Democratic gubernatorial bid by taking into account $3.5 million donated to a joint effort between her campaign and Battleground Texas.

The total is important because $12.2 million is more than the $11.5 million that Attorney General Greg Abbott, the expected Republican nominee for governor, raised in the same six-month time period that ended Dec. 31.

Davis would have less than Abbott if not for the money raised for the Texas Victory Committee, her effort with Battleground Texas, a group dedicated to making Texas competitive for Democrats.

Abbott’s campaign immediately said Davis is using “fuzzy math” when the numbers were released this week. The Republican Party of Texas said if Davis is allowed to count the $3.5 million, then GOP candidates for governor (there is more than one) should be credited with $1.8 million the party raised in state and federal money to help its candidates.

The Davis campaign has said the Victory Committee was created to support electing the senator, that she raised money for the effort, and that every dollar raised for the committee is a dollar raised to elect her governor.

A press release from the pro-Democratic Lone Star Project, run by longtime Davis adviser Matt Angle, expanded the description of the committee’s work to include other candidates.

Angle chided Abbott in a letter that described the Victory account as one “that will be expended to build infrastructure and turnout voters to elect her as our state’s governor and to support the election of other Texas Democratic candidates.”

Angle said Friday that his press release doesn’t conflict with what the Davis campaign has said about the fund. He said it’s legitimate for Davis to count the money as part of her tally because “first of all, she raised the money” and the committee’s efforts will help her election effort.

But Angle said that’s not the only benefit of the committee. He said by ensuring there is infrastructure in place for effective voter turnout, the committee’s work also will benefit other candidates.

“Wendy’s campaign and Battleground Texas understood that infrastructure doesn’t build itself,” Angle said. “Battleground Texas is in place to do that. This victory fund is a way for Wendy to make sure the money gets raised to get it done.”